Domestic and Foreign Policies: Trump–Vance Versus Harris–Walz

Published: 8/7/2024, 9:45:05 PM EDT

Domestic and Foreign Policies: Trump–Vance Versus Harris–Walz — Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House on March 18, 2024; Former President Donald Trump in Mason City, Iowa, on Jan. 5, 2024. (Anna Moneymaker; Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have hit the campaign trail with their running mates, offering competing stances on key issues of domestic and foreign policy.

Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, have sought to brand themselves the "underdogs" against their Republican rivals, Trump and Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio). Both camps have provided some insight on the campaign trail on what a Harris–Walz or Trump–Vance White House would look like. A future debate between Trump and Harris will also provide more detail on their approach to major issues and domestic and foreign policy goals.

Domestic Policies

The 2024 Trump campaign has vowed to return to "common sense" policies, as outlined in its 16-page GOP platform. Trump's domestic priorities include repealing the Affordable Care Act, restricting immigration, and reducing taxes. He also campaigned on these themes in the 2016 and 2020 elections.

Although Harris has not yet published the 2024 Democratic Party platform, she is likely to align her domestic policies with those of her predecessor, President Joe Biden. This would include racial equity, tackling climate change, a “fair and orderly” immigration system, rebuilding infrastructure, and affordable healthcare, as outlined in the White House's Biden–Harris Record.

Affordable Care Act

Trump has pledged to revisit one of his top domestic priorities, which is to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act. The Republican Party had largely opposed the legislation after President Obama signed it into law in 2010. The legislation aimed to make affordable health insurance available to more U.S. citizens, and to expand the Medicaid Program.

“I don’t want to terminate Obamacare, I want to REPLACE IT with MUCH BETTER HEALTHCARE. Obamacare Sucks!!!” Trump wrote in a November 2023 Truth Social post.

On the other hand, Harris has vowed to continue strengthening the Affordable Care Act, and touted on her campaign website that the Biden administration had lowered health insurance premiums to save millions of Americans an average of $800 per year.

Immigration

Trump is known for taking a strong stance on illegal immigration as a national security issue, reflected in his “Build the Wall” slogan. In May 2017, he signed an executive order that blocked entry visas for citizens of seven countries—Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen—all identified as state sponsors of terrorism by the U.S. Department of State. He also temporarily suspended all refugees from entering the United States for four months while president.

The Trump campaign has attacked Harris over her immigration policy, often linking her to the title of “border czar." As vice president, Harris approached immigration with a "Root Causes Strategy," as outlined in a February 2021 White House statement.

“Vice President Kamala Harris has been leading the Administration’s diplomatic efforts to address the root causes of migration from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras,” according to the White House.

In July 2021, Harris unveiled a broad strategy to tackle immigration issues, saying that efforts to examine the root causes of immigration from the three Central American countries would not yield immediate results.

During his presidency, Trump invested in building a wall along the southern border to curb illegal immigration. Walz slammed Trump's U.S.–Mexico border policy, and joked that the border wall was an opportunity to "invest in a 30-foot ladder factory."

Regulation, Taxes

The Trump administration, in alignment with longstanding Republican priorities, aimed to cut taxes. In December 2017, President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which amended the federal tax code and reduced tax rates for individuals and corporations. According to the Tax Policy Center, the legislation eased the tax burden on most Americans—including high-income earners.

The Biden–Harris administration has called for a “fairer tax system” that it says should reward work over wealth.

“Republicans would rather add trillions to the national debt than take back even one dollar of the $150 billion annual rate cut corporations received under President Trump,” the White House has stated, while also saying that the Biden–Harris administration was focused on raising rates for large corporations and ending capital income tax breaks and other loopholes for the wealthy.

Foreign Policy

Both Trump and Biden have sought to restore the nation's standing in the world.

Trump has said on the campaign trail that he will continue to pursue his "America First" approach to foreign policy, which focuses on reducing U.S. trade deficits and rebalancing burden sharing with NATO allies. He has also reiterated a "peace through strength" strategy.

While serving as the 45th president, Trump reevaluated many of the country's major multinational agreements. He withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the INF Treaty, the UNHRC and UNESCO, and the Paris Agreement on climate change.

On the campaign trail, Harris has not addressed her approach to foreign policy, although she recently provided some insight into her stance on the ongoing Gaza conflict.

Israel–Hamas War

Both the Trump–Vance and Harris–Walz campaigns have expressed support for Israel's right to defend itself against Hamas since the terrorist organization's Oct. 7, 2023 attack.

Trump has often labeled himself as the most pro-Israel president in the nation's history. He met in July with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and told reporters that the pair have always had a good relationship. Trump pledged during that meeting to bring peace to the Middle East if elected in November, and urged a quick resolution to the conflict.

“Get it over with and let’s get back to peace and stop killing people. And that’s a very simple statement,” Trump said during an interview in April. “They have to get it done. Get it over with and get it over with fast because we have to—you have to get back to normalcy and peace.”

While Harris has provided limited insight on her foreign policy approach, she has echoed what Biden has termed his "ironclad commitment" and support to Israel amid the ongoing war. In a recent speech, Harris expressed empathy for the suffering of Palestinians.

"We cannot look away in the face of these tragedies," she said after meeting with Netanyahu, while also saying it's time to lock down a cease-fire deal.

She had previously called for a two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. As a U.S. Senator, Harris endorsed the Iran nuclear deal and voted for restrictions on arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

Ukraine–Russia War

Trump has claimed that he would end the Russia–Ukraine war in one day. If elected to a second term, Trump's top priority would be to "quickly negotiate" an end to the conflict, according to his campaign. He has also said that he would not commit to approving additional U.S. aid to Ukraine if reelected.

Although Harris has not publicly discussed her approach to the Ukraine–Russia conflict, the White House said in June that the vice president met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for a sixth time, and announced that the United States would provide over $1.5 billion through USAID and the State Department to support the people of Ukraine.

China

During his presidency, Trump imposed tariffs on $360 billion worth of Chinese goods. It is unclear if Harris will continue to target China on tariffs, but Biden has maintained the Trump-era measures.

If Harris continues to align herself with Biden's policies on China, then she could be expected to push back on China’s attacks on human rights, intellectual property, and global governance. She may also signal some cooperation with Beijing "when it’s in America’s interest to do so," as Biden has previously said. The Biden–Harris administration has taken action to protect American workers from China's unfair trade practices, according to the White House.